BlackRock adds to flexible benefits scheme

﻿BlackRock Investment Management has added perks to its flexible benefits plan, switched providers and introduced quarterly enrolment for some benefits.

New benefits include the ability to buy up to five days’ holiday a year, discounted gym membership, additional retail vouchers, and payroll giving, which BlackRock matches up to £275. The firm has introduced quarterly enrolment periods for some benefits, rather than just one annual flex window.

Joel Davies, head of reward, Europe, the Middle East and Africa at BlackRock, said “For a chunk of the benefits, we will switch [enrolment] to four times a year.†

“It is about flexibility and trying to match benefits to the needs of our staff. Some benefits made more sense to do annually, while others, due to employees’ lifestyles and needs, make more sense for us to do more regularly.”

The changes follow BlackRock’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch Investment Management in 2007 and Barclay’s Global Investors in 2009, which swelled its workforce to 2,200. Davies said: “We have worked hard to provide a consistent set of benefits that is valued equally by all sides of the organisation. We are very consistent now, with one set of benefits applicable to all staff.”

BlackRock has also switched its flex provider to Thomsons Online Benefits. These changes came about as a result of talking to staff and streamlining benefits across the organisation.

The firm also plans to be more flexible with its communications, said Davies. “We intend to make communications more continuous rather than focusing on the single time of year which is traditional
in benefits.”